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<head>
  <title>Mad About Government Censorship?  Let's do something about it.</title>
  <meta name="date" contents="2014-03-14 12:00" />
  <meta name="author" contents="Christopher Allan Webber" />
  <meta name="tags" contents="censorship, activism, campaign, surveillance" />
</head>
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<p style="text-align: center">
  <a href="/pages/campaign.html">
    <img src="/blog_images/promotional_censor_scan.png"
         alt="node being censored by bot" />
  </a>
</p>

<p>
  So you may have seen that yesterday, another news article went live
  about yet another instance of government censorship on a centralized
  media platform.  Yes, again.  This time it's the UK government and
  YouTube:
</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>
  The YouTube permissions that Google has given the Home Office in
  recent weeks include the power to flag swaths of content “at scale”
  instead of only picking out individual videos.
  </p>

  <p>
  They are in part a response to a blitz from UK security authorities
  to persuade internet service providers, search engines and social
  media sites to censor more of their own content for extremist
  material even if it does not always break existing laws.
  <br /> -- <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/technology/youtube-to-be-monitored-by-british-security-1.1722722">Irish Times</a>; see also <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140313/07571126564/youtube-gives-uk-govt-broad-powers-to-censor-videos-it-doesnt-like.shtml">TechDirt coverage</a>
  </p>
</blockquote>

<p>
  Seems a little bit too familiar?  We've seen lots of
  <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16753729">similar stories on government censorship</a>
  lately, and of course these <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130107/17051021601/thank-joe-lieberman-youtube-accidentally-censoring-key-syrian-watchdogs-youtube-channel.shtml">extend farther than their intended effects</a>.
  And it's not just censorship... as we all know, <a href="http://mediagoblin.org/news/on-prism.html">surveillance is on the rise</a>, as we've <a href="http://mediagoblin.org/news/paranoia-optimization.html">written about before</a>.
  (Of course, centralization leads to other problems too, like
  the entire lights-out-at-once of sites like
  <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/01/google-reader-shut-down_n_3518733.html">Google Reader</a>.)
</p>

<p>
  The kind of broad-auto-censorship that's being described above with
  that story with the UK and YouTube just couldn't happen the same way
  in a fully decentralized network the way it can ever-so-easily in a
  centralized network.  It's just a lot more work to send out notices
  to each and every site operator.  Centralized targets are tempting
  and easy targets for this kind of thing, where punishing even legal
  activity is simple enough that we might as well, right?
</p>

<p class="blog_image">
  <a href="/pages/campaign.html"
     ><img src="/images/campaign/video2_poster-surveillance.png"
           alt="Spying image from the campaign video" /></a>


<p>
  Does it seem like month after month, week after week, these things
  keep getting worse?  Does censorship and surveillance and a loss of
  the dream of the by-the-people-for-the-people web really make
  you... mad?  Angry?  Frustrated?
</p>

<p>
  Yeah?  Good.  Let's do something about it.
</p>

<p class="blog_image">
  <a href="/pages/campaign.html"
     ><img src="/blog_images/to_the_people-banner.png"
           alt="MediaGoblin campaign launch" /></a>
</p>

<p>
  We can rebuild the internet the way it was meant to be.  We can take
  things back.  But it's going to take effort and real work.  And
  guess what?  That's what we're working on.  This is exactly the
  fight that MediaGoblin is in, the future we're trying to take on.
</p>

<p>
  Awareness and speaking to government officials and so on are all
  good and critical steps.  People should be aware of the rights they
  have and the rights that are being violated.  We can and should try
  to pass laws and make legal movement... that's critical.  But it's
  important to remember that even if we pass new laws, these programs
  were <i>already</i> unconstitutional.  They were already breaking
  our laws and our rights, and there's no sign that these programs are
  shutting down anytime soon.  We need to build better tools.
</p>

<p>
  We're working on these things right now... you can read up all about
  the kinds of things we're working towards on our
  <a href="http://mediagoblin.org/pages/campaign.html">campaign page</a>.
  If that sounds like it's a big challenge, it's because it is.  But we
  can do it... with your help.  We have a big community of volunteers,
  and we have the technical know-how to pull this off.  But we don't
  have the kinds of huge budgets large corporate silo'ed projects have.
</p>

<p>
  So, want to do something about the present state of affairs?
  Something revolutionary?  Good!  Here's some ways you can help,
  right now:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>
    <a href="http://mediagoblin.org/pages/campaign.html"
       >Check out our campaign page and support us, however much you can.</a>
    "Every bit helps" sounds like a tired phrase, but it's really true.
    We're built on the backs of individual supporters like you.
    Whatever you can give will make a huge difference.
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="http://mediagoblin.org/news/help-spread-the-campaign.html"
       >Spread the word about the campaign!</a>
    The more people we get to know about what we're working on, the
    better chance of success we have.  Help us get the word out there!
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="http://mediagoblin.org/pages/join.html">Join our community!</a>

    Set up a <a href="https://wiki.mediagoblin.org/HackingHowto">local instance for development</a> or <a href="http://docs.mediagoblin.org/">run an instance for your family and friends</a> (or
    even use MediaGoblin as part of your business!  This is a-okay as
    long as you give back any code you write!)
  </li>
</ul>

<p>

  We do all this stuff because we believe in it.  We want to make the
  internet a better place, and we can do it.  But together, we can do it.
  Become a hero for the internet.
  <a href="http://mediagoblin.org/pages/campaign.html">Join our Goblin Force by supporting the campaign</a>...
  you'll be a hero to the internet for doing so.  Let's do this thing!
</p>

<p class="centered">
  <a href="/pages/campaign.html"
     ><img src="/blog_images/goblin_force_badge-campaign.png"
           alt="goblin force badge for campaign"></a>
</p>

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